Second Judge Blocks Trump Mail-Voting Rules Ahead Of Midterms
5 hours ago
A second federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s new mail-ballot requirements, adding another legal hurdle to the president’s effort to change mail-voting procedures ahead of November’s midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued a preliminary injunction late Sunday preventing the U.S. Postal Service from implementing the new regulations. Nichols was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump during his first term.
The regulations stem from an executive order Trump issued earlier this year. Under rules finalized by the Postal Service in August, states would be required to have their mail-ballot envelope designs approved by the Postal Service and upload information identifying voters receiving mail ballots to a federal online portal.
The administration has argued its broader election changes are intended to strengthen election security and ensure only eligible voters participate. Critics, including election officials and voting-rights groups, have challenged the president’s authority to impose the requirements and warned that implementing them so close to Election Day could prevent valid ballots from being counted.
Nichols previously declined to block Trump’s executive order in May, ruling at the time that the challenge was premature because the Postal Service had not yet finalized its regulations. With those rules now in place, Nichols concluded that circumstances had changed.
In his latest ruling, Nichols said there is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise valid absentee or mail-in ballots could go uncounted if the requirements take effect before the midterms.
The decision follows a similar injunction from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. A federal appeals court has declined to lift that order, while the Trump administration has taken the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The legal fight comes as voting is beginning in several states. Mail ballots are already being distributed in Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with additional states preparing to send ballots in the coming days.
The Supreme Court is now positioned to weigh in as the November midterms approach and control of Congress hangs in the balance.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued a preliminary injunction late Sunday preventing the U.S. Postal Service from implementing the new regulations. Nichols was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump during his first term.
The regulations stem from an executive order Trump issued earlier this year. Under rules finalized by the Postal Service in August, states would be required to have their mail-ballot envelope designs approved by the Postal Service and upload information identifying voters receiving mail ballots to a federal online portal.
The administration has argued its broader election changes are intended to strengthen election security and ensure only eligible voters participate. Critics, including election officials and voting-rights groups, have challenged the president’s authority to impose the requirements and warned that implementing them so close to Election Day could prevent valid ballots from being counted.
Nichols previously declined to block Trump’s executive order in May, ruling at the time that the challenge was premature because the Postal Service had not yet finalized its regulations. With those rules now in place, Nichols concluded that circumstances had changed.
In his latest ruling, Nichols said there is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise valid absentee or mail-in ballots could go uncounted if the requirements take effect before the midterms.
The decision follows a similar injunction from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. A federal appeals court has declined to lift that order, while the Trump administration has taken the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The legal fight comes as voting is beginning in several states. Mail ballots are already being distributed in Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with additional states preparing to send ballots in the coming days.
The Supreme Court is now positioned to weigh in as the November midterms approach and control of Congress hangs in the balance.